


Sasori of the Red Leaf

by ThatDamnKennedyKid



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, If Minato Survived, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-01-27 14:23:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12583804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDamnKennedyKid/pseuds/ThatDamnKennedyKid
Summary: The first night, when Minato tucked him into bed and kissed his forehead goodnight, he was crippled by the soft curling of warmth inside his chest. Now, when he looks up at the faces on the side of the mountain, all he feels is the strong, faintly desperate sense of belonging.





	1. Uzumaki Sasori

The daylight filtered through the trees, dappling the streets and the people walking them. Midday and lively as ever with warm summer air blowing through the alleys between the houses, Konoha breathed in easy peace. 

He nodded to the officer he passed. The Uchiha nodded back, continuing on his calm patrol. He strolled on, eventually wandering past the teahouse. One of his friends exited as he passed, blinking in surprise. 

"Oh. I didn't expect to see you out and about today."

"Hmm." He shrugged noncommittally. "My family's on leave right now. The missive from Jiraiya returned."

The other man's eyes lit up and he smiled in that gentle way of his. "I see. Naruto's returning soon."

"Yeah." He rolled his shoulders. "I'll probably be deployed again a few days after, but until then, I'm just waiting around. What've you been up to today, Itachi?"

The Uchiha brushed some hair out of his eyes. "I was training Sasuke earlier today, but he ran off to play with Shisui once he returned from his mission."

"The woes of being the beloved older brother."

Itachi chuckled. "Indeed. You'll recall it soon enough."

He snorted. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"How is Shisui, anyway?"

"He's fine. A little bruised, but nothing major."

"And you?"

Itachi sighed. "Father is after me to get ready to be the clan head, but there is nothing I want less."

"Mmm. You have my sympathies."

"What about you?" The Uchiha elbowed him playfully. "Minato-sama looking to make you the next Hokage?"

"Pfft. Absolutely not."

"Why not? You're a genius, a natural fit for the job."

"You're a genius too, and a prodigy Uchiha on top of that."

Itachi's dark eyes took to the sky. "We'll see, in any case. Did you mind to have some company until your younger brother returns?"

"I was going to go to the training field and read for a bit before taking a nap. If you wish to join me, you're more than welcome."

Itachi smiled again, knocking their shoulders. "I'd be honoured."

* * *

_The rocks on this side of the ravine were hard and dry, even with his blood splattered across them. The sun was setting, a perfect metaphor for the misery of his short, short life and it's coming close._

_The enemy nin hadn't found him since they'd flung him and destroyed the puppet. Damn Iwa bastards - persistent if nothing else. He hurt everywhere and the scrolls on his back did him no favours when he landed. He was only grateful the puppets the scrolls contained would not be harmed from inside their containers. Still, there was little good that did him, injured and immobile as he was. There wasn't much chakra left in him, the strings to his old puppets cut and retreated._

_The sound of shifting sand and hushed voices told him his reverie was coming to a close. Maybe if he closed his eyes and pretended to already be dead, they would walk past him. Perhaps, but unlikely. Besides, even if they did, it would just mean several more slowly cooling hours of bleeding out and that didn't sound appealing in the slightest. He already knew that there would be no Suna nin that would come for him - better dead on the battlefield than repurposing the dead in the village. The crazy child with no parents. Nevermind that the tonic was supposed to be a cure for the gangrene, not a heart-stopping poison. But who cares about intentions, right?_

_A flare of chakra, a few brief gurgles, and then the passing of a much stronger chakra in front of him. He did his best not to whimper as it crosses his senses - heat, warmth, summer, sun, rejuvination, wind carrying rain - but it was too strong. Beneath all the bodies and all the sacrilege and the abandonment and the fear, he was a child. Just a little child on the battlefield, killing other children and adults alike._

_"Oh."_

_A sweet touch connected with his cheek and had he the strength, he would have fled from it. Sweetness was not something he could afford. If he tasted it and lost it, he really would go mad, as they feared of him._

_"Open your eyes, little one."_

_He did as he was commanded without his own permission. Blond hair was lit up in the moonlight, blue eyes as brilliant as the daytime sky. His skin was the healthy flush of bronze that came from living in a place where the sun was not a hazard, but a blessing._

_He whimpered again. Death hadn't ever really scared him, but the reputation of the Yellow Flash certainly did. He had been to battlefields after the Konoha's infamous nin had been through and waded ankle-deep through corpses, looking for something worth salvaging. The efficiency had been ruthless and precise, cutting in the most admirable and horrible of ways._

_"Red hair." The Yellow Flash murmured to himself, gently petting it down in a motion so foreign and careful. "You must be Sasori of the Red Sand then."_

_He whimpered weakly again, head falling limply back, putty in the man's hands._

_"I never expected you to be so young." The Yellow Flash frowned, staring into his eyes. "Did they force you to fight?"_

_He laughed weakly, bitterly. "Who do they not force to fight? Fear and suspicion are very strong in my village."_

_Chiyo would be very mad at him for admitting the weakness, especially to an enemy - even one under alliance - but he figured he was safe because with this man's kunai, he would never see her again anyway. She could blame him all she wanted, so long as he wasn't around to have to hear it._

_The Yellow Flash's frown was so heartbreakingly melancholy, he had the strangest urge to reach out and touch his face, soothe away all the darkness beading on his kindly face. "I'm Namikaze Minato, a Jounin for Konoha."_

_"Pretty unmistakable." He replied._

_"I'm going to take you back to my people and we're going to take care of you."_

_"Just kill me." He muttered. "It'll be faster and better for everyone. They can finally have their corpse."_

_The strength of the Jounin was written in the easy way he picked up his little body, the protective cradle it made for him, but the careful application of that strength gave his heart a respite from the sandstorm he'd always lived in. He would love Minato sooner than later at this rate and that was dangerous. There was nothing to be said about alliances after the war - Minato might kill him in the future anyway, even after all this trouble. And he didn't want childhood feelings for a stranger marring him in the battles to come. A fast, guaranteed way to lose his life._

_He fell unconscious sometime through the travels as identical trees passed him by, though Minato seemed to know where he was going._

_He woke up in a soft bed, garbed in clean, soft cotton. His side faintly pulsed the same way a bruise did, but when he touched it, all he was met with was warm, smooth skin. Next to him, Minato looked up from his book._

_"Sasori. Good, I'm glad you're awake. Are you hungry?"_

_He remained silent, much more unsure now than he had been dying in the man's arms at the border. He watched as the blond nodded as though he'd replied and left the small tent, returning shortly with a bento of bland, but filling rice and some sort of gravied meat. Once Minato placed it in front of him and a cursory check revealed no poisons, he wolfed it down. A week without resupply had left him exhausted and paranoid, seeing double or what was not there. It had lead him to getting wounded, hundreds of miles from home._

_"Did you want more?"_

_He felt full to bursting, as though any more would make him explode. "No, thank you."_

_"Water?"_

_" . . . Yes, please."_

_After that, Minato sat on the edge of his bed, stroking his hair and untangling it._

_"Why did you bother saving me?"_

_Minato looked down at him, a kindly smile on his lips and in his eyes. "No child should ever see the battlefield. Even as an enemy nin, a child is still a child. I couldn't leave you out there even if I wanted to."_

_"You could have killed me. How do you know I haven't been sent to kill you?" Those weren't his orders per say, but it was close._

_"You're not capable." Minato continued to pet him, rubbing at spots on the back of his neck. "but I would still risk it. Children are not soldiers - they are the future and need to be sheltered from war, not sacrificed to it."_

_He left it at that, allowing the warm, fatherly hand to lull him back to sleep. He'd allowed himself to be taken prisoner - he wouldn't be able to return to the Sand anyway. May as well enjoy it, while he had the chance._

* * *

Kakashi was in the training grounds, watching Obito and Rin spar. They sat down next to him, Itachi laying down and basking in the lovely air. He sat down next to Kakashi, lounging against a tree trunk. 

"How are they doing?"

"Rin's getting upset that Obito keeps pulling his punches because she's pregnant."

He snorted. "She's not even showing."

"That's what she keeps saying. I think she secretly enjoys it, though. Being doted on and cared for." Kakashi said, flipping to another page in his Icha Icha. 

"Hmm. Probably. She's got a soft spot for the idiot."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "So do you."

"I have to. Do you think Minato would let me get away with bullying you otherwise?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose so."

* * *

_Minato hadn't been given a break back to the village. And with no one to care for him otherwise, he'd been foisted off onto the ninja._

_That's how he found himself against the Iwa ninja again, saving three little brats from their own hubris as their mentor was thousands of miles away, leveling a battlefield. The boy, Obito, was almost more trouble than he was worth. He got one's eye slashed out, allowed the other to be captured, then almost got trapped in a rockfall. What a fool._

_"You're an idiot."_

_"Who asked you?!" The kid snapped back, but he wasn't paying attention. The White Fang's kid, Kakashi, was now a liability. Blindsided and off-balance, it would be a miracle to keep them all in one piece until Minato managed to return. Kids. He almost understood why his grandmother hated having to care for him so much._

_"No one had to." He replied cynically. "It's plain there for anyone with open eyes to see. You're just the idiot who ran blindfolded into a minefield."_

_"Take that back, you bastard!"_

_Rin grabbed his shoulder. "Please, Obito, now is not the time."_

_He calmed to her touch, allowing her to continue tending to the Hatake in peace._

_"What are we going to do if the Iwa nin find us again?" Kakashi asked, smartly._

_"We'll kill them." He returned. "I've got a few tricks still. They won't know what hit them."_

_A few hours later, Minato returned to a battered, but intact team. The gratified smile and searingly warm hug kept him awake that night, trying to fight off attachment that was already rooted in his heart._

_Worthless human soul, he was._

* * *

He felt the winds change, some sense in his chest telling him it was time. Kakashi and Itachi on either side seemed to have the same impulse.

"I should go find Sasuke. He'll be greatly disappointed to find out last that Naruto has returned." Itachi said, standing with willowy grace. "I'll see you two at the gate."

"I could do with some lunch too before he gets back." Kakashi rolled his shoulders, stretching a little. "Wanna join?"

"Thanks for the offer, but nah. I'm going to go find Chichi and Haha. You know she'll come looking for me if I don't show up on my own and that's much worse."

Kakashi nodded with a masked smile. "Of course. See you later."

The walk back through the main street and to the front gates was nice and calm - serene in a way that only someone who understood another life could fully appreciate. Except for Itachi, who seemed like a soul from a lost war, reincarnated specifically to know peace and spread love. What a bastard. 

"We're over here!"

He looked up from where he'd been idly watching his feet, spotting the familiar shock of red hair across the road. He ambled over to them, pulling his hands from his pockets to hug her back. 

"Hey Haha. How are you?"

Kushina kissed the top of his head. "Good. How about you? What've you been up to today?"

"Hanging out with Kakashi and Itachi. Wandering."

"Waiting on Naruto?" Minato offered with a cute grin. 

He cracked a grin in return. "Of course. What kind of older brother would I be otherwise?"

* * *

_Minato sent the three idiots on their way home as soon as they entered Konoha. He kept a hold of his hand, though, guiding them through the sprawling village to a small apartment complex. The older nin let them in, waiting for him to take off his sandals before leading him through the house._

_"Kushina?" Minato called._

_"In here, love!" A feminine voice answered from somewhere in the vicinity of the living room._

_Minato gestured for him to follow, his motions much less severe and his countenance far less commanding than on the battlefield. He did so obediently._

_A woman with red hair was sitting on the couch, stitching together what looked like a standard-issue jounin uniform. She looked up with a brilliant smile when Minato entered, pushing the garment aside to stand up and hug him, their kiss possibly the sweetest thing he'd ever seen. They melted into each other like two parts of a puppet joint - beautifully cohesive and seamless. She pulled back to cup his face tenderly, so heartbreakingly relieved._

_"I have a bit of a surprise for you." He said softly._

_"Oh?"_

_He pulled away from her embrace, turning towards the entrance of the room, where he was hidden partially behind the doorway._

_"Kushina, I would like you to meet Sasori. Sasori, this is my wife, Kushina."_

_He entered the room proper, taking a few steps towards them before loosing his courage. Stupid, stupid fears. He would have attacked Minato full out, tried to kill him without hesitation, but walking towards the man's harmless wife? What idiocy._

_Kushina's smile for him was different from the one she gave Minato. It was kind in a strange way, motherly almost. "Oooh, you're cute. It's nice to meet you, Sasori."_

_"I like your red hair." He said without his own permission._

_Her face lit up even more, if possible, and she pulled him into a crushing hug. He gasped, making eye contact with Minato and begging him to get her to let go. Minato, the prick, only giggled._

_"I like your red hair too." She chirped._

* * *

Funny, how the world continues to spin. 

Three years almost to the day since Naruto left with that perverted Sannin and so much and so little had changed. 

The Uchiha were perhaps the greatest accomplishment - the stabilization of their clan and removing restrictions placed on them by Danzo and Hiruzen. Minato had worked tirelessly with Itachi as his diplomat to calm the roiling resentment festering in the clan. Then the attack on Shisui . . . 

* * *

_He'd been keeping an eye on his father's enemies in the village as any good son would. Danzo had been none too thrilled not only with Minato now having a new 'Uzumaki' brat to solidify his family unit, but being appointed Hokage as well. Definitely unimpressed._

_So he'd taken it upon himself to defend his new family. Minato had been kind and clear when he'd explained his life in Konoha would mean leaving the Red Sand behind. Skills specific to Suna had to be concealed and redirected._

_Puppeteering, as it turned out, was a wonderful pathway to medical ninjutsu and his experience with tonics and poisons made him invaluable in the lush greenery of the Land of Fire. Kushina had also been very forthcoming and helpful in developing his skill in fuinjutsu. Kakashi was a brilliant kenjutsu teacher and, later, Itachi became an invaluable sparring partner. He quickly rose in strength and power, under everyone's nose._

_Therefore Danzo's offer to join the Foundation had come as no surprise. The old man had been leery of him from the beginning, rightly thinking Minato's little gifted orphan was nothing like he appeared. Of course, the dotard old man had no idea he was the Red Sand Scorpion, but semantics hardly mattered._

_He developed a plan with Kushina's help and accepted the offer, being equally tight-lipped and sneaky, relying heavily on Minato's position to protect him._

_When Danzo went for Shisui's eyes, he had been gratified that Itachi had been there to defend his cousin. It made his job of ghosting into the compound much easier. And if there was a trail if dead agents and broken cage locks, who was to guess Minato's beloved son? Whatever else happened in that compound was for him to know. It must have reflected in his face when he showed up at the Hokage's mansion a few hours afterwards and put Shisui's eye back in. Neither Uchiha ever asked him how he got it back, which he was grateful for._

* * *

"Chichi! Haha! Ani!"

Minato was barreled over first, collapsing to the ground with his second son. He gave a breathless, wheezed laugh and hugged his youngest back, kissing his hair tenderly. Naruto was a blur as he dashed up to Kushina, who was much more prepared for the force of her baby's crushing affection. His own chuckle brought his brother's attention but he held up a hand to stop the younger nin from crushing his fragile body. His hug was the gentlest of them all, though with a lot more nuzzling. 

"I've missed you guys so much, you don't even know." Naruto breathed into his hair. Naruto always had loved the red hair of his family, the way his older brother smelt like fresh wood and petrichor. 

"We missed you too." He replied, feather-light fingertips brushing along the back of his brother's neck, a slender arm about his back. "It's been so painfully dull without you to irritate Sasuke."

"I heard that, you ass."

Itachi flicked his brother's forehead just to see the petulant pout. "Speak graciously to your elders."

Naruto beamed at the ravens. "Aw, Sasori-nii, you brought me a gift!"

"Hnn. MMore likely you should be thanking Itachi for finding the little munchkin."

"I'm taller than you!" Sasuke cried in indignation. 

He leveled the younger man with a raised eyebrow and unimpressed slant to his mouth. "Not when you're laid out on your ass in training, you're not."

Sasuke's pout deepened, but it was wiped from his face as soon as Naruto's arms wrapped around him. "Dobe!"

"Shut up, Teme! I just got back - you have to be nice to me for at least a week!"

"That's asking a little much."

Naruto gave him a sloppy, frankly disgusting kiss on the cheek. "Nah. It'll be fun."

Kushina pouted now. "Sasuke gets a kiss and not your mother?"

"Aww, Haha, don't be like that!" Naruto beamed. "We can all camp out in the living room tonight and I'll tell you all about what's happened to me and you can fill me in on what's been going on in Konoha. I  _promise_ I'll be home for dinner."

Minato wrapped an arm around Kushina's shoulders to stop her from sulking. "Go see your friends, Naruto. Kakashi should be floating around here somewhere. Make sure to say hello to him too."

"What's this I heard about a returning ninja?" Came a tease from above.

Naruto giggled at the sight of Shisui, followed by his own adopted brothers, Sai and Shin. 

"Let's give them some space." He suggested. "I'll treat for lunch?"

Of course food would perk Kushina up. "Sure!"

"There's a new bento place. We can go there. Follow me."

Minato waved serenely to Naruto, mouthing  _seven-thirty for dinner_ as he followed his eldest son and wife into the village. 

* * *

_He hadn't been allowed into the birthing chamber, so he stood guard outside the door with Kakashi, listening to Kushina cry out. Every time she screamed, they flinched and exchanged worried glances with each other._

_"Do you think she's okay in there?" Kakashi said, the first to break the tense silence._

_"I don't know, but I'm glad I'm not a girl."_

_Kakashi's nod was fervent in agreement. This was one of the few occasions he was allowed his puppets - if someone were to attack Kushina now, the seal containing the Kyuubi would be weak enough to shatter and the monster would be released. He and Kakashi were the last line of defense, excluding Minato himself, so they had to bring their A-game._

_"Are you ever going to fix your father's tanto?"_

_Kakashi flinched. "Probably not. I sheathed it and have it hidden away."_

_"I could do it for you." He offered. "I forged blades all the time for my puppets."_

_"Where did you get your puppets anyways?"_

_He smiled secretively to himself, a look he knew inspired no confidence but was fun nonetheless. "I was on my own out on a battlefield as a child. I picked up what skills I could without being taught. Puppeteering came naturally to me."_

_"Isn't it a Suna specialist skill?"_

_"There were plenty of puppets just lying around for the taking when the Suna were massacred by the Iwa." He replied callously. Kakashi nodded, no longer willing to broach the subject._

_"Girl or boy?" He asked instead._

_"Boy." He replied, nodding resolutely. "Kushina called it."_

_"You think she's right?"_

_He snorted. "She's Kushina. The little monster's been inside her from the beginning. If anyone is going to be right, it's her."_

_Kakashi paused, considering, before nodding. "Fair."_

_"Anyway-" Another shrill cry had then tensing, glancing over their shoulders in deep-seated worry. Neither one had been around when their original parents died and they weren't keen on finding out what they felt like with their adoptive ones. "U-uh, heh, I f-forgot what I was going to say."_

_Kakashi met his gaze with a wide eye. "Don't blame you."_

_They sat in silence for a few more hours, bodies loose but eyes alert. Quiet permeated the building until the door suddenly opened and Minato, eyes wet and  on the verge of breathless, ushered them in._

_"Boys, boys come here." He beamed, pulling the teenagers along behind him._

_Kushina was laying back on a bed, half-tilted up, but clean and looking on Naruto's suckling form with tender exhaustion._

_"Hey boys." She said, her voice a soft croak. Minato rushed to get her sweet water to soothe her throat, helping her drink it. She looked well and truly done-in._

_"How . . . How are you?" Kakashi asked tentitively._

_"I'm good." She winked drowsily. "Minato managed to hold the seal through the birth and Lady Third helped me through the delivery. Would you like to meet him?"_

_He ribbed the Hatake. "Called it."_

_Kakashi shook his head, but stepped forwards and peered curiously over the bed at the squirmy little infant._

_"Say hello to Naruto." Minato beamed, flush with pride and exertion._

_He joined the other boy at the edge of the bed, taking in the shock of yellow hair and flushed tan skin. "Looks like the family is even. Two redheads and two blondes."_

_Minato and Kushina both laughed, Kakashi chuckling beside him._

_"Do you want to hold your little brother?" Kushina asked. "Once he's done feeding, of course."_

_His eyes blew wide. "Oh, uh, thanks, but no thanks."_

_"Why?"_

_"I-" He swallowed thickly, looking down at the hands that had been the conductor to an orchestra of violence. "I don't think it's a good idea."_

_Minato rounded the bed, pulling the redhead closer to him and holding his small, pale hands in his large, tan ones. He kissed both pale palms. "Do you know what the difference between our hands are, Sasori?"_

_He didn't. "I don't."_

_"Nothing. We are both ninja. We have both taken lives, justly and not so. It is easy for a civilian to say that killing is unjustifiable, but they have never been at the edge of a battlefield, concerned only with their ability to continue to breathe, to make it home at all. They don't know what it means to survive a battle, and bless them for it, because we make sure they never will. But that cost is blood on our hands, massacres committed for peace. But that does not make us any less worthy of all that is good in this world. That does not make us unworthy of family, love, lovers and restful nights. You and I are weapons, Sasori, the likes of which few will ever rival. The will to continue on, what marks us apart from our kunai and our puppets is the tethers to humanity we maintain. Without the good things in life to compliment the bad things we must face down, it is then that we become unworthy of the things we sought to protect."_

_He sniffed, little fingers trembling in a warm, steady grip. "Chichi . . ."_

_Minato's eyes had darkened their blue to the hue of a gemstone, rich and unfathomable as wisdom and steeped in affection that was as overwhelming and scary as it was suffocatingly necessary and desperate. "I saw the shell of a boy turned into a monster. The boy I brought to the Leaf is not the boy before me now. You are my son, and you deserve all the happiness and light you can withstand to counteract the darkness and doubt that lingers in your past. You are loved here, by your mother and I as well as that little baby waiting to be held by his older brother."_

_He tried to keep the tears at bay, and failing that, hide them. Minato's gaze had him anchored, his aura the same as his hugs after nightmares, and he was laid bare beneath it._

_Minato cupped the side of his face, letting one hand go. "Do not be afraid, my darling. You are safe here, both from harm and from harming."_

_Naruto gurgled from Kushina's arms, as if sensing the situation. Kakashi looked between them, eye wide, his own emotions conflicting._

_He squeezed Minato's hand once, with all his strength, and walked over to Kushina, to directed him and placed the infant in his arms._

_"Naruto." He whispered. The babe gurgled again, his eyes opening to gaze up at him, blue and clear and peerless in their intensity. His little hands reached out, grasping weakly at the clothing he wore and his hair. Then he started to giggle, poking and touching his face curiously._

_Gently, Minato took the babe from him, passing him over to Kakashi, who's visible eye blew wide in surprise._

_"Me?" The Hatake squeaked._

_"Of course." Minato grinned. 'He has to get to know his future sensei and honourary family member."_

_Kushina beckoned him over and he went without thinking, slumping into her when she opened her arms for a hug._

_He didn't know how, from there, he would up in his parents' room. Kushina was asleep on her side with Naruto on his back, pressed close to her chest. He was held about the waist by Minato's arm and the soft puffs of the man's breaths against his nape._

_"Sleep, Sasori." His father murmured, his free hand coming down to stroke though his hair. "You've had a long day."_

_He rolled over, resting his head on his father's chest instead of his arm and found Kakashi curled up on the other side, resting halfway down Minato's torso.The blonde's smile was drowsy now, but one blue eye peeked out at him._

_"Rest, son. You'll need it when Naruto awakes."_

_He blinked, then obediently laid down, falling asleep to each beat of Minato's heart._

* * *

The moonlight was harsh on his face, so he rolled onto his other side, hearing Naruto's throaty grumble as he readjusted. 

Kushina was asleep on her side, Minato spooning her closely, his face resting on her shoulder. Naruto was beside him, snoring softly and humming contentedly as he buried his face into his neck. 

His lips quirked up in satisfaction and he settled down once more. 


	2. Konoha no Sasori

As soon as Minato gave him that look, Sasori narrowed his eyes. 

"You've got to be kidding me. Chichi, I told you-"

"I know, but this is an emergency and you're the best medical nin we've got right now." Minato overrode, Hokage voice in play. "The Kazekage's son, the Jinchuuriki Gaara, has been taken by the Akatsuki."

He fell silent then, Naruto stilling at his side. At ten, his younger brother had taken on his mother's burden, splitting the Kyuubi apart and placing half in Naruto, leaving Kushina with the darker side. This was its very purpose. 

"Shit." Sasuke muttered to himself. 

"Sai and Shin are both out on missions, so I'm sending Sasori as your fourth man. Kakashi is team leader. Temari, Gaara's sister, will be guiding you back to the Sand. Your mission to assist Kankurou, who was poisoned, and then track down Gaara to the best of your abilities. According to the missive, Gaara was able to protect most of the village, but there is still chaos and traitors in their ranks. If nothing else, do your best to return with Gaara's body and reach Suna before Kankurou dies."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Sasuke nodded. 

"Chichi, what about . . . " He gestured vaguely. 

Minato shook his head. "It's a risk we're going to have to take."

"I would like to go on record saying that I don't like this." He said. 

"Acknowledged. Make sure to say goodbye to Kushina before you go. Leave as soon as you're packed. Dismissed."

* * *

_Naruto had been told at a very young age this very important secret and to the boy's credit, he'd kept it incredibly well. Even to the Uchiha brothers - to whom he was particularly weak - he never spoke even a word out of turn._

_"It's okay, nii-san." Naruto had beamed, the boy only six then. "You're my brother now anyway. They can't have you!"_

* * *

He had been hesitant to pack his puppet scrolls - so long unused in favour of kenjutsu - but he figured if he felt the instinct to bring them after all this time, he would need them. 

Sasuke had been whispers the whole time they were travelling, trying to weasel why Sasori was against going, adamant enough to actually argue with Minato. Naruto had played up his dumbness to dodge the issue and Kakashi shrugged it off. Likely, the Hatake had overheard plenty enough to figure out what that secret was, but there was no way he would betray Minato like that. 

"Okay, I'm sick of not getting straight answers." Sasuke stalks right over to him across camp, standing with arms crossed. "What the hell do you have against the Sand?"

Temari peeks up curiously from where she was cleaning her fan. Sasori just bursts out laughing. 

"Wouldn't you like to know, brat?" He snorted. "Wait till we get there. You'll get it."

Temari's eyebrows furrowed and he could tell she was wracking her brain, trying to see if she recognized him from somewhere, but she was too young. She hadn't been born when he'd been exiled to the battlefield and if all went well, he could sneak in there, cure this brunette idiot, fly back out with the team on his heels, nab Gaara and be on his way home within the week. Sasuke was shaping up to be a dam for that course of action, but such was the way of an Uchiha. Innately gifted assholes, the lot of them. Except Itachi and Shisui. They were okay. 

"Break's over." Kakashi announced, standing and extinguishing the fire. 

* * *

_Naruto had never understood the nightmares, just held him through them when they cropped up. The boy, barely four, would come into his room, hold him until he stopped fighting, wipe away the tears and kiss his forehead. He didn't know why his older brother would cry out against someone who wasn't there, would flail against invisible enemies that he had long since destroyed._

_But as curious as Naruto had always been, he never asked. He didn't want to know. He could always sense evil, knew how he'd reached someone's limit and times like these were certainly those._

_He didn't even begin to ask once he found out what Suna was, never asked about Chiyo, once Minato explained about where he got Sasori from._

_"It's okay now." Was all he had to say on the matter, seriousness vanishing the moment the doorbell rang, knowing Itachi had come to pick him up to go play with Sasuke, Sai and Shin._

* * *

They were met at the gate by a stern-looking Kazekage, who scowled at them all, including his daughter. 

"Minato-sama sends his regards, Lord Kazekage." Kakashi began. "He sent us as a delegation to assist you in response to your missive."

"Is your medic ninja with you?"

Sasori inclined his head. "I am he."

The Kazekage laid a critical eye on him, but he didn't flinch. He was planning on killing the Third, a much more powerful ninja than this know-nothing, and with his puppets at his back, he truly had nothing to fear. 

"My son is in the infirmary. Take him there, Temari. I would like to speak more with the team captain."

She nodded meekly, gesturing for him to follow her. Naruto's worried gaze followed him in his mind. He didn't like to leave his brother behind like this, but some things just had to be done. 

As his memory told him, it wasn't very long until they wound up at the Kazekage's mansion, in the medical wing of the large building. Kankurou was in a large room, surrounded by fluttery and concerned staff who could not help. 

"The Kazekage has given authority of Kankurou's care over to the Leaf ninja." Temari announced, bowing to him before pausing at the edge of the room. "Kankurou's an idiot, but he doesn't deserve to die. Please, save him if you can."

He inclined his head. There were no promises to be made and she knew that, but that was enough. One can only try in the shinobi world. 

"Firstly, I need all of these fools to tell me what they've done to make it worse. Second, I need a blood sample and an analysis of its properties." He looked over the body of the wheezing brunette. "Then, a bowl of warm, but not hot, water. In that order."

The doctors looked amongst themselves for a long moment. 

"You heard him, didn't you?" Temari snapped, well aware that each moment passing was one closer to the death of her brother. She was not willing to lose two in a matter of hours. 

"And what it this? Since when are we so weak we have to call on the Hidden Leaf?"

The doctors spun around to face their newest visitor. Temari paled when the old woman walked in. 

"Lady Chiyo." Temari bowed. 

"Tell me, girl, why was I not called?"

She kept her head lowered. "I can't say. I don't know my father's mind."

"Such weakness." The old woman hissed, glaring down the doctors until they wilted under her gaze. "Let me have a look at what Leaf shinobi they would think is a better poison master than me."

"He's over by Kankurou." Temari replied meekly. 

Chiyo walked deeper into the room, spotting the redhead leaning over the body of the Kazekage's son and checking his vitals. The medical nin wore scrolls instead of shuriken pouches about his waist and something about the size and intricate paper made her nervous. It wasn't pale paper, like the Leaf normally produced, but a dusty beige, more common to Suna. She greeted the nin by throwing kunai at him. 

The redhead simply chuckled, flicking his wrist and batting them away with a special kunai, bladed with five points instead of one and hollow in the middle. When it twirled back around to him, she caught a glimpse of the chakra string attached to it in the sunlight. He turned his head in her direction, self-satisfied. 

"It's been a long time." He snarked, a deceptively sweet grin on his face. 

"Sasori . . . "

"Ah, so you do remember." He stood up with a smile as Temari rounded the corner, her concern visibly mounting at the ninja tools scattered about. A moment later, the Kazekage followed her in, along with Team 7. Sasuke blinked, confused, but Naruto's frown hardened. Kakashi looked about warily, as if he too should brace for an attack.

"Granny." His grin morphed into a smirk, cruel with victory. 

"What the hell is going on here?" Sasuke snapped. 

"Keep your mouth shut, Uchiha brat!" Chiyo snapped.

Sasori hummed darkly to himself, turning back to Kankurou. "You wanted to know why I didn't want to come to Suna. Well, there she is."

"You know her?" Sasuke asked, scowling. 

Sasori didn't answer, just tore open the bandages on Kankurou's chest. He squinted. "Naruto, tell those idiots behind the curtain to get me some saline and a cloth, will you?"

"Of course, nii-san." Naruto answered, eyeing the old woman dubiously for a moment before going to do as he was told.

"I always knew you were evil."

"I thought that was implied when you locked me in the basement." Sasori muttered, pressing his ear to the other man's chest.

"What did you do? How did you manage to infiltrate Konoha?" She scowled. "Who's child did you kill to take their place?"

Sasori spun around, his chocolate-coloured eyes widening in fury. "Unlike you, I never killed a child by choice."

"You murdered that boy in cold blood!"

"He had gangrene in most of his left leg!" Chiyo stepped back at Sasori's snarl, the way he barred his teeth at her like a trapped animal. "You didn't know that, did you? The infection was in his bloodstream, headed right for his heart. I added a quarter-gram more black flower essence than I was supposed to, because I was  _seven_ , and not only did it stop the infection, it stopped his heart. I didn't intend to kill him. I was a  _child_ ,  a  _baby_ , I didn't want to kill  _anyone_ , let alone the only person in the village who didn't think I was crazy." He snapped his teeth againin. "I wonder who started that rumour, hmm?"

Sasuke's head snapped back to Chiyo for the retort, Temari standing frozen and pale behind him. The Kazekage watched on impassively. It was impossible to tell if he knew who Sasori was to Chiyo or not. 

"You made his body into a puppet. You were a monster, from the day your witch of a mother brought you into this world." She hissed in reply. 

His responding laugh was manic. "Oh yes, of course, the bitch that stole your little boy from you, how could I forget. Nevermind the fact that I look almost exactly like my father - your most beloved son. I was so young, so starved for any kind of affection that I built the Mother and Father puppets. Did you think I did that because I'm inherently evil or because you treated me like I carried plague? But you're right, actually. I did lose it when he died. I was there the whole time, right with him when he took his final breath and told me it wasn't my fault. I started to try and fix him, to bring him back before it was too late."

"You turned someone into a puppet?" Sasuke asked, incredulous.

"Oh yes." His maniac grin scared Sasuke a little, like when Itachi would stare down bullies, forcing them back with sheer force of will. His gaze snapped back to Chiyo, who flinched under the force. "But that, oh yes, that you liked. You thought it was  _useful_. Then, I wasn't just a hindrance of a blood relation, I was an asset, a tool. A whole world of possibility opened up and there was no end of honourable ways you could go about getting me killed."

Naruto returned with the doctors and the saline, taking one look at the situation before rushing over to Sasori's side and blocking out Chiyo. "Nii-san?"'

He snapped back to himself all at once, all of that scary past neatly tucked away behind his eyes once more. He smiled softly at the blonde and ruffled his hair. "Thanks, otouto. I'll need you to hold the bowl, if you don't mind."

"Of course."

With that, Chiyo was promptly ignored once more.

* * *

Sasuke sat out in the hallway with Kakashi and Temari, who was blankly looking off at the wall. The Kazekage had left to return to his village duties. Chiyo and her brother were sitting on a bench a little further away. Kakashi had been insistent that they not be allowed in the room while Sasori worked. 

It had been close to an hour before Naruto and Sasori emerged. Temari immediately jumped to her feet. 

"What happened?" She demanded. 

"It was an earthen poison, made out of iron." Sasori explained, calm as could be. "That means it targeted the heart and started shutdown of major organs systems by choking them out. It's fortunate we got here when we did, otherwise he would have died in the night. That said, there is a portion of the poison dosage that sunk into his organs that I couldn't remove. Anything that was in his bloodstream, however, I got. His body should be able to process the extra iron in time.  In a month or so, he'll be completely normal again."

"Is he awake?"

"Not right now." Naruto shook his head. "He needs to sleep. I've got a seal on him that will keep him asleep for the next twelve hours. We did give him water and nutrients through an IV drip, though, so he'll be okay until then."

"No iron-heavy foods or mineral water for the next month, at all." Sasori warned. "He'll regress quickly if he gets them."

She snorted. "Kankurou not having to eat vegetables? It won't be a problem."

"Yeah, I know the feeling." Sasori elbowed Naruto, who only managed to snort indignantly. 

"I have no problem with Mom's vegetables."

"Yeah, because she'd kill you if you refused." Sasori chuckled. He then looked past her to Kakashi. "I think we should get moving now. Any more wasted time and we won't be able to catch up to Gaara."

Kakashi stood. "I agree."

"So, are we ever going to get an explanation for what happened in there?" Sasuke asked, hands on his hips. 

Sasori chuckled, warm and fond. "Nope."

"Alright!" Naruto grinned, pumping his fist. "Let's go!"

Sasori's eyes flickered over to Chiyo. "You too."

"Me?" She muttered in surprise. 

That glint of mania crept into his smile. "Of course. I have plans for you."


	3. Akasuna no Sasori

Sasori walked casually up to the gates. 

"That didn't take you very long." Sasuke murmured to himself. 

"The Kazekage is a very efficient man." Sasori shrugged. Chiyo looked at him dubiously, standing closer to Kakashi, but the redhead paid her no mind. "Direction?"

"Northwest, so far as the tracks tell." Kakashi shouldered his pack. "From there, they diverge and two sets of tracks have been found. We'll have to figure out which one we want to follow."

"I'll be able to tell." Sasori said. "Let's go."

Kakashi shrugged. "If you say so."

"Let's go get Gaara!" Naruto jumped off. 

"You're really gung-ho to save someone who tried to kill you." Sasuke raised a skeptical eyebrow. 

"You're not a Jinchuuriki. You wouldn't understand."

"You're a Jinchuuriki?" Chiyo questioned.

"Keep your mouth to yourself, old hag." Sasori shushed, following Kakashi's lead out the gates.

* * *

Sasori did in fact lead them to the lair of the Akatsuki, following the blonde asshole who had taken Gaara in the first place. 

"How did you manage that?" Sasuke asked, breathless.

"He's Deidara of the Hidden Stone. Iwa's most infamous terrorist." Sasori's grin was part manic. "Gotta keep up on the outside world too, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke pouted, but remained silent. 

"What's the plan?" Kakashi asked. 

"Blow a hole in the wall and he'll run. You chase him with Sasuke and Naruto. Chiyo and I will recover the Jinchuuriki."

Kakashi nodded, even if his skeptism went unsaid, and readied his explosive tags. 

They did their job beautifully, Deidara flying out on a C2 dragon to engage the team. Kakashi lured him away long enough for Sasori and Chiyo to slip inside the cave and find Gaara's hollow body laying next to a massive statue. 

"What purpose does my presence serve here, Sasori?"

He tossed an arm over her shoulder, pulling her in. "I can't want to spend some time with my lovely grandmother?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You never do anything without a purpose."

"You're right. I don't." He pulled back, raising his hand. She stiffened in realization. 

"Explain!" She shrieked. 

"It's simple." He pulled out a hidden scroll, old and worn and intimately familiar. 

"I'm not making him into a puppet, you monster!" She cried, the suffocating knowledge of Deidara's extravagant fighting style and the distance from the team meaning they would never hear her. 

"Oh, I already have a Kazekage for my collection. No, I have another use for you." He laid the scroll out and gestured to the other forbidden jutsu he'd left behind. "You owe me a favour, old woman, and I'm cashing in today."

"I don't owe you anything."

He relaxed further, but his laugh was crazier. "You left me to die. You and all this wretched town. This is just one payment for a lifetime of injustice. And unlike my mortal wounds, this will barely be felt."

"No, I won't."

He pulled his fingers and she fell into position. "Oh, there isn't a choice here. How does it feel being an expendable puppet, Granny?"

She struggled against it, but there was no fighting his will with the chakra strings on her. "You were never expendable. You were an evil we weren't capable of destroying, so we used you instead."

"I'm sure the Third agrees." He agreed nonchalantly, then he scowled sharply enough to cast his face in shadow. "You will do the jutsu, or I will force you to. Martyr or puppet, I don't care. Either way, Gaara  _will_ be saved. I don't disappoint my family."

"You knew he would be dead." She gasped as she was forced to her knees over Gaara's body.

"Of course I knew. The Akatsuki want Jinchuuriki for the Tailed Beasts inside them. Jinchuuriki die when they are separated, that is simple fact."

"You're a monster."

He leaned over her, making her form the handsigns. "Definitely. But I'm not alone in that either."

He rounded the body, took her hands in his and forced them down, his grip tight and unforgiving as she struggled against the drain, against the unwilling trade. 

It didn't take long, with his extra chakra as a boost and a guide. 

* * *

_"Gaara."_

_He looked around, curious as to who was being called. "Hello?"_

_A man with red hair walked out of the mist towards him, smile soft and brotherly. "Gaara."_

_"Who is Gaara?"_

_"You are." He giggled and offered a hand. "Come with me, Gaara. We're waiting for you."_

_"Who is waiting for me?"_

_"Your friends, your family."_

_"Who are you? Do I know you?"_

_"I'm Naruto's older brother. Come with me. Come home."_

His eyes snapped open. 

* * *

He woke up to the face of the same man, warm and soft touches on his face. Naruto burst into his vision soon after. 

"Ani, we really need your help out there. Kakashi's running out of chakra and Sasuke's pinned down."

"Take care of Gaara. Chiyo, let's go."

The Old Lady nodded, then the two ran off. Kakashi and Sasuke joined them moments later to the ring of a massive explosion. Chiyo came flying back into the cavern, obviously done in my the explosion. 

"That does it!" Sasori yelled. 

On the outside, he was grinning wildly enough to make Deidara nervous. 

"I'm glad you gave me a cover. Just for that, I'm going to give you the chance to live." He said, not loud enough this time for it to echo into the cave. 

"What are you talking about?" Deidara demanded. 

He pulled forth an old friend, the Iron sand dancing around him. "I'll make it look good and you fly off on that dragon. A trade off."

It wasn't until the Iron Sand Coagulate came flying at him that Deidara took the offer for what it was, watching the Iron smash into the wall and shatter it into the river. He fled when the sand shifted again, the dead eyes of the Third Kazekage trained on him. 

* * *

"Sadly, Lady Chiyo perished helping me against Deidara." Sasori reported. The Fourth Kazekage stared at him, trying to find a flaw in the story. 

"I understand. But you managed to recover Gaara alive, so that is more than commendable. I appreciate the Leaf's assistance with this matter."

"Yes, we were very lucky." Sasori replied. 

"I will send my thanks to the Hokage myself. You may replenish your supplies here and be on your way."

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama." Kakashi bowed. 

The Kazekage eyed Sasori one more time, then dismissed them. 

Naruto fell back with him, nudging him as the team went on ahead. "It was you, wasn't it?"

His grin was mischievous. "Whatever do you mean?"

Gaara was waiting for them outside the Kazekage's Mansion. "I wish to offer my thanks for saving my life."

"Of course!" Naruto leapt forward to hug his friend. 

"I am deeply grateful to both you and your family." Gaara was staring at Sasori even as he hugged Naruto back. "Would you mind if I spoke privately to your brother?"

"Of course." Naruto grabbed Kakashi and Sasuke, dragging curious ears away. 

"What was it you wished to discuss, Gaara-sama?"

"I don't know what you did to save me, but I am eternally grateful for your kindness. It could not have been easy." The ex-Jinchuuriki rubbed his arm, but didn't break eye contact. "It is . . . not often I find myself in such company?"

Sasori softened. "Can I share a secret with you, then?"

Gaara nodded. Sasori wrapped his arm around the other redhead, pulling him in. "Your father's history with you is known to us. The Hokage is what saved me, and I know that if you ran, you would find sanctuary in Konoha, just as I did."

"As you did?" Gaara murmured, eyes wide. 

He nodded in return. "Minato claimed I was an Uzumaki, but that's not the case. In fact, you and I both share a history of being hunted by this village, the one that was supposed to be our own."

Gaara, the most clever, gasped softly as it all clicked into place. "The Red Scorpion."

"That truth is between you and I, from one demon to another." Sasori brought their foreheads together, the gesture he used to soothe Naruto. "Konoha saved my life, showed me the light. Should you ever find yourself in need of a home, know that there is one hidden in the leaves."

Gaara's small hand cupped the back of his neck. "The Hokage would not return me?"

"Chichi picked me up when I was an enemy nin." He chuckled. "Trust me when I say that if he'd had the power, he would have taken you as well. Haha wanted to March over here when she found out."

Tears welled in Gaara's eyes, but he didn't allow them to fall. Too damaged, too fragile still. "I can only hope you're right."

Sasori pulled back, but passed him a worn Suna scroll. "Consider this a personal invitation."

Gaara's eyes widened further. "I know this scroll. How did you get it?"

"I wrote it. I should know where they were going to keep it." He chuckled. 

Gaara tucked it into the folds of his robes quickly. 

"Until next time, Gaara-sama." Sasori backed off with a wave, following after his brother at a leisurely pace. 

* * *

It was the middle of the night when Sasori felt Minato return. 

"Sasori-chan, wake up." Minato roused him gently.

"Hmm?" He groaned back, rolling over. 

"There is someone here claiming you invited them to the village. I need a confirmation."

Oh, he knew this one. He rolled out of bed and threw on his Jounin uniform, following Minato back to the Hokage's Mansion. 

In the light of the candles, there Gaara stood, holding the gifted scroll fretfully. He glanced up when they entered. 

"Confirm that you invited Sabaku no Gaara into Konohagakure." Minato stated in his Hokage voice. Gaara looked between them, unsure. 

"I did." He confirmed. "But Sabaku no Gaara doesn't suit him. Uzumaki, perhaps?"

Minato raised an eyebrow. "Gaara?"

"I-" He paused, never one to speak before his thoughts were complete. "The Kazekage does not know I am gone, and I am no longer a Jinchuuriki, not a threat or asset. I have come here at your mercy. I am technically a rogue nin now."

Minato watched him carefully for a moment, then rounded the desk and took his hands. "As a father, I am asking if you would like to join my family. As Hokage, I will offer you asylum."

Gaar's pretty eyes welled up and Sasori almost felt bad. The villagers had been too scared of being turned into puppets to bully him, but Gaara had not been so fortunate. 

His voice was hoarse, desperate. "Please."

Minato smiled softly, the same kindly sparkle to his eyes that Sasori had fallen in love with. "Then welcome home,  _musuko_."

Sasori took the scroll from Gaara's limp hands, and quietly exited the room as Gaara received his first Minato hug, the subsequent swell of emotion  making him bury his face into his Chichi's chest and begin to cry. 

* * *

Chiyo's grave was outside city limits, but close enough for her non-existent visitors to find. 

Sasori stood over it, a wicked smirk on his face. Namikaze Gaara was back home, taking a beating as Guy and Kakashi taught him taijutsu. 

"Hey Granny, you'll never guess what I've done."

 

 


End file.
